How Overweight Are You?

Before you can start to lose weight, it’s a good idea to have a concept of how overweight you are. Check out this ideal body weight chart. Some of those ranges are pretty wide. A good way to know what side of the range you’re on is based on your body frame. If you have a small body frame, your ideal weight should be near the bottom of your height range. The same concept applies for a medium- to large-sized body frame.

Now that you know how much you should weigh, you need to know how much you do weigh. Obviously, a scale can help with that. Take your actual weight and subtract from it your ideal weight. What number is it?

Less Than Zero Pounds

If you are underweight, you certainly don’t need to be reading any weight loss advice blogs. If you are underweight and want to lose weight, that should be a concerning sign. It’s possible you have an eating disorder and should take the matter very seriously if that is the case. If you are underweight, it’s time to start focusing on adding pounds. There are some great “weight gainer” supplements at vitamin stores. Did you know you can make shakes that contain over 1,000 relatively healthy calories?

0-5 pounds

You’re either right on target or slightly overweight. Either way, not a big deal. Keep doing what you’re doing. The rest of the world envies you!

6-15 pounds

This is what I’d call the “maintenance” weight loss range. You’re really not that much overweight. A couple weeks of watching what you eat will have you right back in the perfect range. Don’t stress out with the thought of losing weight from this starting point. It’s pretty easy to drop 10 pounds. You need a 35,000 calorie deficit in your diet and activities (remember: 1 pound of body weight = 3,500 calories). So you could continue doing everything you are doing now only cut out 500 calories of consumption per day. At that rate, it would just take a little over two months to drop ten pounds.

16-30 pounds

This is starting to get into a concerning level of excess weight. The health concerns that accompany excess weight have been documented in countless places and don’t need to be rehashed here. Do your body a favor and start peeling off some pounds. I know it seems overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The goal doesn’t have to be “lose 30 pounds”. It can simply be “lose 5 pounds and see how I feel about the whole thing”. Trust me, once you get that first five pounds off, you’ll be motivated to continue!

31+ pounds

There are many levels of being overweight in this range. Obviously, there’s quite a big difference between being 40 pounds overweight or 200 pounds overweight. However, in either case, weight needs to come off. For the extremely obese, “tummy tuck” operations always seem like the tempting way out. But realize these are a pretty big gamble. For an elective surgery, it’s awfully dangerous. Before thinking about taking such a risky shortcut to weight loss, try a simple diet for a while. Remember, dieting is only as complicated or painful as you perceive it to be and nothing worth having every came easy. Instead of thinking about the cravings and hunger, instead focus on how great it will feel to finally have all of that weight off your frame!